Impact of rectreational divers on coral reefs

Abstract

Recent research has shown that recreational SCUBA divers have the potential to negatively affect the benthic communities of coral reefs. This study was carried out in order to estimate the amounts and types of damages caused by divers on reefs of Redang Island Marine Park. SCUBA divers from two resorts operating in Redang Island were accompanied and observed for duration of 10 minutes. During the observations, the number of times each diver makes contact with the benthic substrate, part of the body that contacted, and the resulting damage caused by each contact were recorded. Observation of 95 divers revealed that more than half, 56%, made at least one contact with the reef where 48.76% of all contacts occurred on living surfaces. On average, 1.7 contacts per diver per 10 min were recorded with 57.5% of the contacts from the fins of the diver. Fin contacts were also responsible for causing eight out of the nine breaking incidents recorded. It was also found that a higher number of male divers, 66%, compared to females, 39%, and divers who practiced photography, 77%, compared to those who did not, 47%, made benthic contacts during the observation period. The activity of photography was seen as the single most cause leading to benthic contacts. Recommendations to limit the detrimental impacts of recreational divers on the reefs around Redang Island are proposed in this report.